


Fairytales In My Mind

by Sam_Haine



Category: Avengers (Comics), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Avengers Tower, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers Feels, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-01-08
Packaged: 2019-10-06 17:16:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17349320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sam_Haine/pseuds/Sam_Haine
Summary: Sometimes Steve has to remember that underneath all the effects of the serum, he's still human. And he can't run from his emotions. But Tony's always there for him.





	Fairytales In My Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This may seem a bit OOC but... idk I just liked the idea of someone being there for Steve when he breaks down cos he hardly gets to show the weak side of himself.

Fairytales In My Mind 

 

Tony pretends he's occupied with something important and scientific on his Starkpad but the truth is, his eyes have been transfixed on the same lead-dirtied piece of drawing paper for the last fifteen minutes. Steve's been quietly sketching with his little, worn down blue pencil for the past hour in a comfortable silence while the world passed them by. And usually Tony wouldn't be caught dead spending _"free-time"_ at some generic coffee house in Manhattan but for his star-spangled Captain? Oh, the things he _would do_ for him. 

It didn't take a lot for anyone to realise that Steve Rogers was a special one. And it wasn't because of the super-serum.

Steve had a unique quality, that everyone just admired with and without envy. He was inexhaustibly beautiful and interesting in a way mostly because of the fact that he was from the murky past... a _man out of time_ as Loki had once called him. With the exception of the obvious, Steve was also extremely beautiful, serum or not, Tony believed. His blonde hair was golden, shiny and almost always neat- except for when he got out of bed in the morning of course. And Tony had a hand in Steve's messy bed-head anyway. His eyes were a piercing blue that honest-to-God sparkled when he looked into them. Tony swore he could see his entire life in them. 

Steve's brows furrow slightly as he moves the pencil across the page, creating light, delicate strokes of lead that somehow look extremely neat despite his hands moving in quick but firm motions. And God, his hands are beautiful. His entire entity is made up of perfection and Tony knows Steve hates when he says superficial things like that because Steve holds reservations about himself but he can't help it. He knows Steve sort of resents the super serum because after he changed, everything else in his life changed with it and he hadn't had a damn second to deal with any of it. 

But it didn't change the fact that he was a gorgeous man. 

"Your telephone's ringing." Steve suddenly tells him in a soft voice and he snaps out of it. He forgoes correcting Steve's "telephone" in favour of how cute he sounds when he mixes up new age stuff. 

It's endearing and not in the way that encourages Tony to make fun of him but in a way that's genuine and sweet. 

"Hey Bruce, what's up?" 

Bruce gives him an update on the Ultron project they'd both been working on and rattles off some progress stats. It's exactly everything he'd been expecting to hear. He hangs up, pleased and sends Steve a warm smile to abate the curious look in his pretty blue eyes. 

"Bruce says hi." 

The side of Steve's mouth turns up in that adorable smile of his as he nods. 

"What's he up to?" 

"Oh nothing. Just a little project we've been working on. We'll present it to the team when it's ready." 

"Oh, so no special sneak peek for me?" Steve pouts flirtatiously with his brow raised and his mouth set in a mischievous grin. It makes Tony mirror his grin and he can't help but to lean over and press a kiss to Steve's cheek. 

"Nope. Your star-spangled butt is gonna have to wait just like the rest of us." 

Steve rolls his eyes but nods, sipping on his coffee before setting it down and going back to his drawing. It's a beautiful picture of buildings, as far as Tony can see anyway. He checks his feed and sees that his package had been received by JARVIS. Good, he thinks. It's another side project he'd occupied himself with which had been an accidental sort of happenstance while he'd been going through Steve's SHIELD folder one day. Tony was way more intuitive than a lot of people gave him credit for which was exactly why he used it to his advantage. Fury knew though, but that didn't stop Tony from breaking into SHIELD' s files. Whilst doing so, he'd found some discrepancies and connections with some reports over the course of fifty years and...

Well, let's just say Steve wasn't the only man out of time. 

But, until he found out more, he'd keep silent for fear of upsetting Steve's peace. The soldier was at a comfortable place right now that wasn't too stressful or demanding and Tony planned to keep it that way. 

A nudge from Steve wakes him from his rattling mind and he glances up to see Steve showing him his drawing, a contented look on his face. Tony frowned slightly before realising that it was a picture of the Avengers Tower, tall and brilliant in all its glory. His chest feels a bit fuzzy and warm and he refuses to acknowledge that Steve's little drawing had made it feel that way. He smiles and runs a thumb soothingly against Steve's temple, fingers in that gorgeous blonde hair. 

"It's perfect. I'll have it blown up and framed for our room." 

The peachy, virgin blush adorning Steve's face is worth it. He sips on his coffee to hide how happy he is that Tony likes his art but purrs under the man's touch anyway. 

"You don't have to do-"

"No, I love it. I want it in our room." Tony reassures him with a quick kiss to his temple. Steve just blushes harder and refuses to make eye contact for the rest of their lunch. 

 

***

Getting together with Steve seemed like the most unlikely pairing to any sane person that lived in the Avengers Tower. Hell, Tony himself still marveled at the fact that he'd managed to be with Rogers when he'd resented the man his entire life. Howard Stark wasn't the worst father out there... he thought Loki's adopted father might take that cake but- when the man constantly bullied him into being more like Captain America, he'd lost count on how many times he felt relieved that the guy was dead. Now, sitting here with said "dead-guy" and stroking his hair gently to see the blush brighten on his American sweetheart face, he couldn't help but resent himself for ever thinking such a thing. 

Steve was quite possibly the sweetest person he'd ever met, a bit rugged round the edges from war and a bit too feisty for his own good but, deep down, a real swell guy. They'd butted heads a couple of times when Fury had pulled them together to defeat Loki and that hadn't been a good start to their friendship. But after nearly dying in that wormhole in space, Tony figured he'd earned some respect from the Captain himself. Steve had spoken to him over a quiet dinner of Shawarma, and just like that, they'd become that much closer. 

And closer as in, Steve was wearing his clothes and waking up in _his_ bed every morning. And honestly, the sight of a very naked blonde lying face down in his sheets, perfect ass out on display for only Tony to see, was the best thing Tony had ever experienced in his entire life. It almost felt like sweet karma, the way he got to fuck Howard's little American sweetheart and know him inside out; the way his old man _never_ could. 

"Hey baby, what's up?" 

His tone is nonchalant, casual as he notices Steve entering his lab from the corner of his eye. His actual focus is on the digital cross-section of a prototype he'd been assembling to serve as a housing unit for Ultron's program. A quick glance at the time however tells him that it's 2:34am, way past the time Steve is usually awake. He'd left the blonde in bed, tangled up in sheets and stark naked save for the bruises that Tony gave him. He loved marking what was his... _sue him._

But when Steve doesn't answer, he quickly swivels his chair around to find the blonde curled up in a shivering ball on the sofa Tony had put there specifically for five minute breaks. He's in dark grey sweats and a soft white tee, his hair looking damp with sweat and his face pale. Tony immediately drops the pencil in his hand and goes over to him. 

"Hey, hey Steve. What's wrong? What happened?" 

His voice is soft, almost sweet and patient as he strokes Steve's hair tenderly, noting the shimmery tracks of tears running down the blonde's cheek. His mind runs over a million different scenarios at once, thinking of anything that could've hurt his baby, but he keeps drawing blanks. He'd left his lover sleeping soundly in their bed, snuggling into his pillow. 

Steve had looked comfortable then...

_Unless-_

"Did you have a nightmare?" He asks softly, pulling Steve into him as they sat on the sofa. Steve mumbles something but his voice is muffled by the way he buries his face in Tony's neck. 

"Can't hear you sweetheart." Tony says with a chuckle. It's not unkind and Steve knows that. He fixes himself better, trying to crawl further into Tony's lap. 

"It was cold." 

Tony frowns. "What was, darlin?" 

Steve huffs softly to himself but it's not impatient. He's just embarrassed. 

"The room it- ...It got cold and I- ...I couldn't stand it." 

Tony's mind is way too wired for it to click but after a moment, he realises Steve's fears. He hated the cold, or more like, _feared it_ after he'd been frozen for so many decades. It wasn't obvious but most times, Steve would go out of his way to evade icy and wet places. He wasn't a coward, hell, he'd jump into the watery depths for any mission if it were required of him, but... it just became too much sometimes. 

Just like tonight.

"I'm sorry baby, I should've adjusted the temperature when I left." Tony starts but Steve shakes his head. 

"S'not your fault. I could've gotten another blanket-"

"Steven."

The firm tone in his voice silences Steve. 

"Listen to me. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. The coldness affects you, we both know that. I'm glad you came to me, although I should've adjusted the temperature. It won't happen again sweetheart, I promise." 

Steve's hands tighten their hold on him and he feels the murmur of assent that rumbles from the soldier's chest. It should make him feel bad that he was able to get Steve to agree with him so quickly but it doesn't. He's glad Steve's more compliant when he's scared like this because it helps him understand his worth. He wasn't just "Captain America" to Tony Stark and whatever he was feeling _mattered._

"JARVIS, adjust our room temperature to a fifty-four." 

"Of course sir." The AI responds almost immediately. 

He feels Steve stirring in his arms, wriggling like a newborn pup and he runs a soothing hand over his head. 

"Hey, it's okay. T'sokay...""

"Tony- ...I'm sorry- you were in the middle of work-" Steve frowns, as if he's severely disappointed in himself. 

"It's alright baby- hey... I said it's fine, look at me..." Tony struggles to say as Steve refuses to stop squirming. He tightens his grip with just a little more force and Steve pauses at that, big blue eyes blinking sadly at him. 

"I said it's fine, and it is. Nothing comes before you. _Nothing._ D'you hear me?" 

A few seconds pass before Steve nods jerkily, his eyes a bit wetter than they were before. 

"Okay." He sniffles, hiding his face in Tony's chest. He's practically _in_ the man's lap now. 

"Good." Tony replies, stroking his back in calm, automatic motions. 

It probably looked and sounded ridiculous to any outsider, a big, muscled supersoldier like Steve curling up like a kitten on Tony's lap but contrary to popular belief, Steve actually needed constant reassurance that everything was real after being on ice for so long. He only let himself become desperate for touch when he was around Tony and only the billionaire got to see him like this. Outside of Avengers Tower, the public didn't need to know that their righteous hero was actually suffering from PTSD and a myriad of other mental ailments. 

Tony takes the blanket that DUM-E brings over, ever so helpfully and drapes it over them, reveling in the soft, contented purr that escapes Steve unconsciously. 

He hopes to never lose this; 

...not in a million years.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed.


End file.
